“People commit crimes all the time without knowing it. It’s impossible to know what sort of behavior is criminal.” — Rafael Mangual, Manhattan Institute (a conservative think tank)

Let’s play a game. Have you ever…

• walked a dog on a leash longer than 6 feet while on federal property?
• lied to your boss over the phone about why you didn’t come in to work?
• transported a rake across state lines in the back of a pickup?
• sold a specialty food item on Facebook?
  

Believe it or not, these are all federal offenses for which people can and, in some cases, have been prosecuted. Yes, the dog-on-a-leash thing is a jailable offense, and lying to your boss over the phone can be interpreted as wire fraud. Ridiculous, right? Lest you think it’s only the federal laws that include this sort of thing, here are a few more.

Have you ever…

• played pinball in South Carolina before you turned 18? (There’s a state ban on that.)
• thrown a ball at another kid’s face (assuming you are also a kid, of course) during a dodgeball game in Michigan? (State prosecutors filed ‘aggravated assault’ charges against a 10-year-old for that! Luckily, the case was dropped, though it was deemed sustainable.)
• sheltered animals that you didn’t own during a hurricane in North Carolina? (State prosecutors filed criminal charges against a lady for doing this, claiming she was practicing veterinary medicine without a license.)
• given eyeglasses to needy people in Kentucky who couldn’t afford them? (Yep, some well-meaning chap did this and state officials told him it was a crime.)
  

As John Stossel points out in his recent article, “Three hundred thousand federal criminal offenses are on the books.” And who knows how many more state and local laws and regulations there are?! Granted, the actual number of incidences when people are prosecuted and jailed and/or fined may be relatively few. But, that doesn’t mean it isn’t or can’t be a problem, especially when legal compliance can take a lot of time, money, and effort. Plus, the whole stress and stigma — not to mention, expense — of having been labeled a criminal can stay with a person/business for many years.

Part of the problem, as noted in the article, is that old and outmoded laws are not taken off the books. Another huge issue is that a) most laws are passed by unelected bureaucrats and b) those bureaucrats are often lobbied (or otherwise influenced) by established businesses into passing arduous rules that squash new competition. I’m sure there are other causes, as well.

What does Stossel think should be done?

“Law should stick to punishing assault, theft, and fraud. Otherwise, leave us all alone.

A recent Manhattan Institute report makes suggestions for getting closer to that ideal.

The absence of criminal intent should be taken more seriously by legislators. With hundreds of thousands of criminal offenses on the books, the old adage that “ignorance of the law is no excuse” no longer makes sense.

Lawmakers should also consider listing crimes in one place instead of sprinkling them throughout the statutory codes, which would take a lifetime to read.

And government should regularly repeal laws we no longer need.”

I’m all for that.

Tags: anti-competition, criminal intent, everyone is a criminal, ignorance of the law, John Stossel, Manhattan Institute, outmoded laws, overcriminalization, overregulation, prosecutable offenses, Rafael Mangual, stupid laws, unelected bureaucrats, unknown laws

Posted in Politics
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